The present invention relates to an endless belt and in particular to a belt having paddles projecting therefrom for pushing objects off a transport conveyor.
Depicted in FIG. 1 is a conventional conveying system 10 which comprises a main transport conveyor 12 for conveying articles A therealong in a selected path of travel. Disposed at various locations along the transport conveyor 12 are chutes 14 onto which selected ones of the articles are to be diverted. For example, the articles could comprise thin envelopes or larger packages which are being sorted according to destination.
The articles can contain codes which are scanned by sensors (not shown) to provide a signal indicating which chute is to receive each particular article.
In order to direct the article onto the chute, a diverter mechanism 16 is arranged above the transport conveyor 12. That diverter mechanism 16 comprises a belt in the form of two spaced apart, narrow belt segments 18A, 18B. Alternatively, a single wide belt could be used. The belt segments are mounted on two pairs of pulleys 20, 22, each pair of pulleys being affixed to a common axle 24, 26. The axles are mutually parallel, and one of the axles is driven intermittently by a motor 28 by means of a drive belt 30.
Mounted to the belt segments is a plurality of paddles 32, 34 (e.g., two or more). Upon receipt of a signal, a motor 28 drives the belt segments by a selected distance in either direction to cause one of the paddles 32, 34 to pass across the conveyor 12 and displace an article A onto a respective chute 14.
The paddles are attached to each belt segment in a fixed manner, e.g., by being bolted to tabs 36 that are, in turn, fixed to the belt segments. For instance, the belt segments and tabs could be formed of urethane, with the tabs being fused to the belt segments.
It will be appreciated that as a paddle contacts a package, the paddle tends to be bent backwards, whereby forces will be transmitted by the paddle to its mounting tabs 36. Consequently, the tabs are stressed in a manner that can eventually produce a failure of their fused connections with the belt segments.
Moreover, in the event that the articles are thin and tend to lie flat against the transport conveyor (e.g., envelopes), it may be necessary to compensate for the tendency for a paddle to bend backwardly, and consequently pass over the article. Such compensation may be accomplished by arranging the paddle to have a length greater than the vertical distance from the belt to the transport conveyor. As a result, the paddle will tend to wipe across the transport conveyor. In so doing, however, the paddle will push downwardly against the article, whereby the friction forces between the article and transport conveyor are increased to such an extent that the article may resist being pushed laterally from the transport conveyor.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a diverter mechanism which minimizes stress at the connection between the paddle and belt, and which minimizes friction between the articles (especially thin articles) and the transport conveyor.